The ubiquity of Internet-enabled devices has created an enormous demand for Internet services and content. In many ways, we have become a connected society where users are increasingly reliant on network services and content. This Internet-connected revolution has created significant challenges for service and content providers who often struggle to service a high volume of user requests without falling short of user performance expectations. For example, providers typically need large and complex datacenters to keep up with network and content demands from users. These datacenters are generally equipped with server farms configured to host specific services, and include numerous switches and routers configured to route traffic in and out of the datacenters. In many instances, a specific datacenter is expected to handle millions of traffic flows and service requests.
Not surprisingly, such large volumes of data can be difficult to manage and create significant performance degradations and challenges. Load balancing solutions may be implemented to improve performance and service reliability in a datacenter. However, current load balancing solutions are prone to node failures and lack adequate bi-directional flow stickiness.